jbrew73

It should be disassembled,cleaned and lubed but if there is a removable lube port you could try a very light amount of grease directly on the main gear.

That gear is unsupported when the spool is not installed and will be noisy. the noise sounds like the gears are worn out. You might lessen the noise by greasing them.

What reel is it? Some spool shafts are smaller than the bearing and the bearing doesn’t spin.

The opinion expressed below is based on my personal gear, hands and techniques. Your experience may differ and you are welcome to your opinion just as I am. If you use or have to use your fingers on the line to detect strikes you should trade in your 1970 fiberglass rods and trilene mono for some modern gear or work on your rod holding technique. I played around this afternoon letting bluegills nibble on a plastic worm. There is no way in hell that fingering the line equates to better strike detection when using modern moderately priced gear. Maybe back in the day when lesser quality gear was available this technique helped but not with today’s equipment. I strongly believe how you hold the rod and the tightness / looseness of your grip are key factors to knowing what’s happening at the other end of your line. All this said, spinning rods might be able to detect strikes better ( more “sensitive “)do to the way they are held but I don’t use spinning rod enough to have a solid opinion on it. I was was taught to fish with my finger on the line so I am familiar with this technique but it has no place in my fishing Arsenal in 2018.

Well I’m glad that it’s finally settled. .........Stay tuned until icast 2019, Toms fingers are being cloned as we speak. They will be available in all sizes and colors. Guaranteed to catch DD bass or your money back! ?

I’ve had good luck with topwater early morning and late evening but when it’s actually dark I’ve had more success with big worms and spinnerbaits.

7’ heavy. I don’t like longer rods for tip down applications.

It doesn’t matter which is more sensitive. Real bass fisherman wouldn’t be caught using fairy wands. is this a trick question?

The biffle head is great. So good I actually stopped using them this year to force myself to get better with other plastic techniques. Biffle heads are good for dragging, pitching to cover, hopping, shaking, etc. they really work well in a variety of situations.

This is my favorite but haven’t been able to find them since the 80’s

If you reel any slower it sinks hmmmmm

I heard the cheap kind runs fast and loose.

Bacon grease

Gotcha. I'm really surprised hook up ratios are as good as the are with bladed baits! we throw spoons expecting fish to bite the blade but expect them to bite the skirt on spinners, buzzbaits, etc.

Any suggestions for this situation?

Not a fan of cavitrons either. They don't run truer or slower than other brands I've used. Too much hype for a mediocre bait imo.

Fish it.

Dobyns dx702 casting Lews tournament pro 10lb Tatsu

Try it with your thumb on the spool with light tension. I'm guessing that it will engage. I have seen several reels do it.

My guess is that The clutch is not fully engaging. It can happen when there is no load on the spool. i wouldn't worry about it. bass pro should have at least offered some opinion on this.

This^ In my experience 4lb mono will out cast 10lb braid.

I throw those size baits on a 6'9" Hammer heavy rod. It also makes a great spinnerbait and vibrating jig rod.

Give us a follow up on the reel soon. Unfortunately I was not too pleased with the quality of the graphite lews reels I've seen. I had one lews Jason Christie reel and my nephews have some of the mark rose reels and they felt cheap and didn't hold up very well.

I'm not sure what the name is in the Falcon SR line but the Falcon Bucoo trapcaster is a very versatile rod and would work good for those techniques. It's a 7' mh/ mod-fast rod. dobyns has some great rods too but I've only fished one of their rods and can't recommend anything.

I'd give tatsu a try and see how you like it. I tried tatsu last year but didn't fall in love with it and went back to sunline sniper. I have only used shooter once so I can't really compare. Tatsu is very manageable but I didn't feel like it was durable enough and lacked sensitivity.